


Da Capo

by Blizzard96



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Gen, Science Fiction, loosely based on To The Moon, some UNB members appear briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 04:00:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15016223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blizzard96/pseuds/Blizzard96
Summary: Kang Yuchan wants to stand on stage one last time. Jun and Donghun are (semi) qualified to help him.





	Da Capo

_Da capo: An Italian musical term that means “from the beginning” (literally “from the head”); it is an easier way to say to repeat the music from the beginning_

 

“So, you know our next patient?” Donghun asked, eyes not wavering from the road even as Jun flipped through a folder of papers next to him excitedly.

“Of course I do!” Jun said, “I mean, as much as anyone can know a celebrity.”

Donghun grunted. “Kang Yuchan. He was a singer, right?”

“He was,” Jun confirmed, words nearly running into each other with his eagerness. “He was in an idol group called UNB, and then hosted a few variety shows before he retired. He’s mostly known for the singing part though. My mom has the group’s albums, and she played them all the time when I was a kid. I practically grew up on their stuff!”

Donghun suppressed a sigh. “Okay, so what’s his dream then if he was so successful? Why kind of regrets would he even have?”

“Apparently,” Jun shuffled a few papers around, “He wants to perform on stage with his friends.”

Donghun made a questioning face. “Didn’t he do that enough already?”

Jun shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he just want to relive his glory days.”

Donghun shook his head. “Whatever. It’s his money.”

 

* * *

 

“You two are the doctors from Sigmund Corp.?” The teenager in front of Jun and Donghun gave them a skeptical look. Donghun tried very hard not to roll his eyes, because who else could they be when they were dressed in lab coats and hauling a box full of heavy equipment around? Well actually, that would probably look very fishy to any passerby, but whoever was living in the house should at least be expecting them.

“Yes,” Donghun replied. “We’re here to see Mr. Kang.” He held up his employee ID as proof. From behind Donghun could faintly hear a noise that sounded a little like Jun saying ‘hurry up’ from under a mountain of equipment. He chose to ignore that.

With one more look from the teen, they were finally let into the sizable estate that Kang Yuchan apparently owned. “He’s in his bedroom,” the boy said, leading the two of them up the stairs. Donghun looked around as they traveled through the house, taking in the high ceilings and framed pictures sprinkled throughout the hallways. Oddly enough, none of them featured the teenager currently leading them.

“I didn’t think he had any family,” Donghun said, trying to recall the information Jun had been reading out loud in the car. He’d expected to be greeted by a doctor or something when they had arrived.

“Oh, I’m not family,” the boy said, showing them into a room at the top of the stairs, “I’m his neighbor.” He pointed to a window on the other side of the room, and Donghun could see a blue house across the street. “Either my mom or I come here to look after him when his doctor can’t make it out. We heard you were coming today, and my mom said I should be here to greet you.”

Donghun nodded. “I see,” he gave the room a once over and saw the man laying on the bed. He hadn’t budged when they entered the room, apparently asleep and very week. He was clearly quite aged and, if the heart rate monitor was anything to go by, close to his last hours. “Is that him?”

The boy nodded. “Yeah, that’s Mr. Kang.” The boy noticed Jun still struggling with their heavy equipment and directed Jun to an empty space in one corner of the room where a couple of chairs and a couch had been shoved up against the wall. “You can set your stuff down there.”

Jun gave a grunt of thanks before staggering over to the open area and setting down the box with a resounding thud. Despite that, the man in the bed didn’t move. Donghun gave the patient a concerned look, wondering if they had enough time to complete the procedure.

“How is he doing?” Donghun asked. Jun had started setting up the equipment near the couches.

“Not too good,” the teenager said, eyes flicking to the heart rate monitor. “The doctor visited yesterday, and she said maybe a day or two tops.”

Donghun nodded. “I see. Thank you…” he trailed off awkwardly.

“Oh. It’s Jisung.” He glanced at Jun, who was barely muffling various curse words as he hefted the huge computer screen from its carrying case. “I’ll get you guys some water and let you get set up. Yell if you need anything.” The teen left the room quickly.

Donghun huffed. “Kids these days.” He turned back to Jun, who had finally managed to get the large device upright and was starting to plug in the patient’s data. “How’s it going?” he asked, crossing the room to look over Jun’s shoulder.

“Fine,” Jun said, narrowing his eyes, “No thanks to you.”

Donghun gave him an unapologetic shrug. “Tell you what, how about I finish setting up the machine, and you can look around and see if you can learn anything else about our patient. Maybe you’ll find something that wasn’t mentioned in the file.” Donghun knew he’d made the right call when Jun’s eyes lit up at the prospect of exploring the celebrity’s house. He briefly wondered if he might regret his decision, but Jun was already halfway out the door.

He sighed as he sat down behind the computer. It was going to be a long night.

 

* * *

 

Kang Yuchan’s house was both what Jun expected from a celebrity, and also nothing like it. The house itself was very large and open, but the furniture and decoration were fairly minimal. Jun had the suspicion that the minimalism wasn’t exactly Mr. Kang’s aesthetic, but more likely he just didn’t have that many possessions. What did exist looked like it was well used and at least a few years old.

Jun paused at a wall lined with photos in an empty sitting room. There were pictures of Mr. Kang much younger with people Jun could only assume were his parents. Further down that wall were a few photos of the man as a teenager with his friends (other trainees in his company maybe?). Finally, at the end next to a small bookshelf, were photos that Jun recognized as UNB members. Some of them were group photos and others were solo shots. One of them looked very familiar, and Jun realized with a jolt that it had been taken at a concert that his own mother had gone to and taken pictures of.

“This is his favorite room.” Jun jolted a little and stifled a (definitely not high pitched) scream in his mouth. He spun around to see Jisung standing in the entrance, giving Jun an unimpressed look. The boy’s glare lessened a bit when he looked at all the photos as well. “He always said these photos were the most valuable thing in the house.” 

The boy walked over to the book shelf next to Jun and pulled out one of the albums that had been stacked on it. Jun could see it was one of UNB’s first mini-albums. “They were my mom’s favorite group when she was a teenager,” Jun said.

“He always talked about his time with UNB whenever I came over, even when I was a kid,” Jisung said, putting the album back on the shelf. He turned to Jun. “He really loved being an idol. He said that their retirement as a group was one of the top five saddest moments of his life.” Jisung frowned. “He never told me what number one was though.”

Jun nodded. “It might have to do with whatever he wished for.”

“Can you really do it then?” Jisung asked. “Let him perform with his friends one last time?”

Jun nodded. “We can,” he said with conviction. He and Donghun had definitely tackled harder projects in the past, and they still had a near perfect track record (except for the time with the llama, but they didn’t talk about that).

“Is it like a memory wipe then?” Jisung asked.

“No, it’s more like we take his existing desires and use past memories to overwrite them,” Jun explained, used to spelling out the process for clients. “We’re going to have to travel backwards through his memories to find the root desire and then amplify it until he has the motivation to make that dream a reality. At least, as much as he virtually can.”

Jisung nodded, brow furrowing. “That’s… really complicated.”

Jun laughed. “I mean, I did have to get a doctorate and then go through two years of training before I totally understood it myself.”

The boy hummed before turning to head back to the doorway. He paused on his way out and tapped a picture on the wall. “I don’t know if this helps, but he always said this was his favorite photo, after the ones of his family of course.”

Jun walked over to the photo Jisung had been pointing at as the teenager left the room. It was of Mr. Kang as a teenager with two other boys. They weren’t members of UNB, and Jun couldn’t recall any other people of note in the files. Maybe it was just a nice photo? He squinted at the picture. It didn’t look too different from the other photos on the wall, though it was clearly before UNB’s debut given how young he looked. He wondered how much of Kang Yuchan didn’t fit in a file.

 

* * *

 

“Took you long enough,” Donghun said as Jun made his reappearance. Jisung had come back a few minutes ago and dropped off two glasses of ice water before disappearing again to do who knew what.

“You told me to explore!” Jun protested.

“Did you find anything then?” Donghun asked skeptically.

“Yes, actually,” Jun said, grabbing his water from the table. Donghun held back a snicker as the other choked on the water from drinking too fast. He coughed for a minute before managing to compose himself. “He takes a lot of photos.”

Donghun raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“And he has all his albums,” Jun said, looking toward the doorway. “And a lot of cacti. Like, I didn’t know it was possible for one person to own so many cacti. I wonder who will take care of them when…” he cut himself off, looking toward the man in the bed. “Anyway, are you done yet?”

“I am,” Donghun said, typing in a last line of code into the computer. “All the information’s in, so we should be ready to initiate the procedure whenever.”

“Now’s as good a time as any,” Jun said, sitting down on the couch. He picked up the bulky Sigmund Corp. helmet. “See you on the other side.” He placed the helmet over his head and started poking a few buttons on his wrist watch. 

Donghun flipped a few switches, and got up to place a helmet over the unconscious patient’s head before returning to the chair to put his own helmet on. ‘I wonder why performing again is so important to him,’ Donghun thought before the world went white.

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 83 years old**

 

The world rearranged itself around Donghun until he was standing in kitchen of the house. It looked exactly like the house they had just been in, but now everything was softer and more muffled, like in a dream. The house was bright with sunlight, and Donghun could tell it was a very peaceful place. He looked around to see if Jun had landed yet. 

“Jun?” he called. “Are you here?”

“Yeah.” Jun phased into existence next to Donghun, his appearance semi-transparent as they had no solid form in the memories. He took in their new surroundings as well. “Huh. Oh, there’s the cacti,” Jun said, pointing to the windowsill in the kitchen. A line of cacti sat on the ledge, soaking up the sunlight.

Donghun frowned. “That is entirely too many cacti,” he agreed, looking at the amount of succulents. He shook his head before they could get more distracted. “Alright.” He turned to the dining table where Mr. Kang sat in a chair writing on a piece of paper. “I’m going to activate the visibility and allow us to interact with things in the environment.” Jun nodded and Donghun punched some codes into his wristwatch. There was a beep, and suddenly the room seemed to sharpen its focus and become more solid.

“Still weird,” Jun marveled, looking at his newly non-see through hand. Mr. Kang stiffened in his seat before turning around to see Donghun and Jun.

His brow creased in confusion. “Who are you?” he asked, voice hoarse. 

“We’re from Sigmund Corp.” Jun said.

Mr. Kang’s eyes widened. “Ah, I just called them the other day. You work fast!” He laughed, eyes crinkling up. Donghun was reminded of the few photos Jun had shown him of the old man as a teenager, smile holding the same amount of warmth as in the images.

Jun cleared his throat, “Uh yes. Actually, you called us a month ago, and we’re here now to fulfill your wish.”

“A month?” he asked, baffled.

“That’s correct, Mr. Kang,” Jun said gently. Donghun grimaced. This part was always hard, and occasionally patients had trouble accepting their current state of being near death.

“Chan,” the man said, almost reflexively.

“What?” Jun asked, confused.

“Chan,” he repeated. “I usually go by Chan.” He gave them a lopsided smile, setting his pen down near what he’d been writing. “So, I must be near the end then.”

Donghun nodded. “Yes, we’re here to make your dream of performing onstage with your friends a reality.”

“Is that so?” Chan asked. “I can’t wait to see them again.” He got a faraway look in his eyes for a minute before refocusing. “Well if there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”

Donghun let out an inaudible breath of relief. It looked like Mr.Kang, no Chan, would be the kind of person who took things in stride. “Thank you,” he said. “Chan, do you have a particular reason why you want to perform with them again? We’ll be able to create the memories easier if you could give us a more concrete desire.”

“I guess we just never had the right chance,” Chan said.

Jun exchanged a look with Donghun before looking back to Chan. “With all due respect, I’m not sure what you mean. Your group was supremely successful! My mom was a huge fan of UNB.”

Chan looked to Jun eyes sparkling. “Really? I’m honored. I loved the time I spent with UNB. It’s nice to hear I made someone happy.”

Donghun stepped in before he could go on a tangent. “We’ll just travel back through your memories to find the root cause. Since we can’t jump back to the very beginning in one jump, we use mementos to connect various significant moments in your life together. There’s one in every memory, and it will let us jump to the previous one. It’s something that will be close to you emotionally. Do you know what that could be?”

Chan thought for a second before digging in his pocket. “My phone? I’ve had it for a while. I’m afraid people might consider it outdated at this point, but I just can’t wrap my head around the new ones.” He laughed.

“That’ll work,” Donghun said, taking the phone.

“Can I ask one more thing?” Chan asked as Donghun started to activate the memento. “What happens to this place when you leave?” he gestured to the room.

Donghun gave Jun a look. “This is just a reconstruction of your memories, as is this version of you,” Donghun said. Jun made a face at the blunt explanation, but didn’t argue.

Chan nodded. “Technology sure has changed,” he laughed. It was the kind of laugh that made other people want to laugh too, and Donghun found himself smiling.

“We’ll definitely grant your wish,” Jun said waving to Chan. Donghun activated the memento and the world went white once more.

 

* * *

 

 

**Kang Yuchan, 65 years old**

 

They reappeared at a table outside of a cafe. The sun was shining brightly, but Donghun couldn’t feel it on his skin as he and Jun were both intangible and inaudible. “There he is,” Jun said, pointing a couple of tables away. A version of Chan was sitting at a table with another man, both of them relatively aged, but not as old as Chan had been in the last memory.

“Let’s get closer,” Donghun said, getting up from their table. Jun followed him until they were awkwardly hovering over Chan’s table.

“This is always so awkward,” Jun muttered, opting to sit on the table as Donghun leaned against it. Jun was seriously close to Chan, almost sitting in the man’s salad.

Donghun pinched his side, making the other yelp. “Pay attention,” he said.

“–been a while,” Chan was saying, grinning at the other man. “I was worried you moved, like Marco did.”

“That’s Gwangsuk,” Jun whispered. Donghun gave him a baffled look. “You know, Feeldog? UNB’s leader?”

“…How do you know this?” Donghun asked.

“It was in the file,” Jun replied. At Donghun’s skeptical look he added, “And like I said, my mom was a fan. We have a poster in the… never mind.” Jun turned back to their conversation with an embarrassed look.

“I’m just busy,” Gwangsuk laughed. “You know, my family and all that.”

Chan nodded, smiling. “You’ll all have to visit sometime. I haven’t hosted a dinner in a while.”

Gwangsuk snorted. “You’ll just make instant ramyeon. I know. I lived with you.”

Chan narrows his eyes playfully. “I can cook! I’ve been learning from my neighbor!”

“She’s too nice for her own good,” Gwangsuk said, leaning back in his chair. “Her daughter too.”

“She comes over sometimes with her mother,” Chan said. “She’s so much older. Even has a baby now.”

“Oh really? What’s his name?”

“Jisung,” Chan said. “A little blonde boy. Cute.”

“That’s just weird,” Jun said, thinking about the standoffish teenager that had met them at the door to Chan’s house. Donghun nodded in agreement.

“That’s great for her,” Gwangsuk said. They lapsed into silence, taking in the sunlight. “It’s nice being able to do this nowadays. When we were younger, we could hardly go out to eat without people taking pictures of us.”

“You got old,” Chan teased, earning a scowl from the other man.

“Like you’re so young,” Gwangsuk shot back. There was a beat of silence with mock glaring before they both burst out laughing. “But seriously,” he said, laughter winding down, “It’s nice to have some time to myself nowadays. No hectic schedules, no non-stop promotions…”

“No people taking pictures of you when you’re running around a mall trying to find a bathroom?” Chan asked.

Gwangsuk groaned. “That happened _one_ time, and none of you let me live it down!”

“Of course not. You’re our leader, we can’t just let you have it easy.” Chan tapped his phone to check the time.

“What, bored of me already? After not seeing me for four months?” Gwangsuk asked dramatically, his acting betrayed by a smile threatening to break through.

Chan snorted. “I’m expecting a call from a friend.”

“Another friend?” Gwangsuk lamented. “What am I, chopped liver?” The memory started to turn fuzzy as they rambled on.

“They’re still good friends after all these years,” Jun said, looking at them. He pressed a button on his watch and the memories froze mid word. “Do you think we’ll still be friends in forty years?”

Donghun gave Jun a look. “Don’t say things that will give me nightmares.” Jun made a wounded noise, and Donghun laughed. “Alright, let’s find the memento.” It turned out to be a ticket stub stuck in Chan’s phone case. “Here we go.” They left the memory, watching Chan grin and wondering how he could possibly have any regrets.

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 52 years old**

 

The next place they found themselves in was in a box overlooking a concert venue. Donghun looked out the large glass windows to see a stage off in the distance before he turned to see Jun appear by a refreshment table. He strode over just as Jun started reaching for a pastry.

“We’re here to work, not eat,” Donghun said, staring pointedly at Jun’s hand hovering just inches above the plate.

“But I’m hungry!” Jun whined. “We haven’t eaten in hours!”

“And the food here isn’t real,” Donghun said, crossing his arms. Jun huffed, but dropped his hand to his side.

“Alright, where’s Chan?” Jun asked, getting back to business.

Donghun turned around. “Over there.” He pointed to Chan, who was speaking with someone on a large couch. They walked over to listen in on the conversation.

“It’s good to see you,” Chan was saying. “Any promising groups this year?”

The other man grinned. “Always. It seems like they get more and more talented every year. Remember when we were up on stage?”

“It’s Junyoung,” Jun explained to Donghun. “Another UNB member.”

“It’s been a while,” Chan said. “I’m think if I tried popping again, my joints would actually pop out of their sockets.”

“Such is life,” the other man grinned. He looked out the window when the music started up. It was a little muffled, but they could still make out some of the words, and definitely the screams of the fans. “It’s nice of the company to let us see the new groups though.” He fiddled with a ticket in his hands.

Chan nodded. “Maybe we can meet them afterwards. I wonder if we’ll seem outdated to them?”

“Dance styles do change a lot,” Junyoung said. “They probably have some dance move I couldn’t even dream of.”

Donghun paused the scene. “Let’s find the memento,” he said. “There’s not too much to this memory.” He nodded toward the fading edges of the room. Jun agreed and they searched the room, Donghun eventually finding some flowers toward the back of the room. “Over here!” he called, waving Jun over.

“I still don’t know why he wants to perform,” Jun said, frowning in Chan’s direction. “He seems happy with being retired.”

Donghun shrugged. “Maybe it’s earlier in the memories.” The memory went dark.

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 40 years old**

 

They landed in a busy area that appeared to be backstage of a performance venue. Jun dodged a harried looking man carrying a camera before realizing he didn’t need to with his current intangible state. He looked around to see Donghun striding toward him.

“It’s loud!” Jun yelled over the other people talking and the general noise that came with stage pieces and props being rushed around.

“Hang on!” Donghun yelled back, pressing a few buttons on his watch. Instantly, the sound seemed to decrease to a manageable murmur. “That’s better.”

Jun hummed in agreement. “Do you know where he is?” Donghun just shrugged. Jun looked around until he spotted an abandoned headset sitting on a chair and got an idea. “I have a plan.”

“Somehow that doesn’t fill me with confidence,” Donghun said dryly.

“Just follow my lead,” Jun said, pressing a few buttons on his wristwatch to make himself visible. He picked up the headset and slipped it on before walking over to a very stressed out looking man with a clipboard. “Hello,” he said, getting the man’s attention. “We were supposed to direct Kang Yuchan to where he’ll be.”

“What?” the man with the clipboard said, “Oh, right. I think someone saw him heading toward the bathroom. Make sure you get him to the viewing room in time.” He gestured vaguely to one of the hallways.

“Thank you,” Jun said, nodding at the man. He quickly deactivated his visibility before he and Donghun set out down the hall the man had pointed to. They walked down the hall until they came to the men’s restroom, phasing through the door apprehensively. Jun had seen enough in dreams to traumatize him for life, but he wanted to avoid it if possible.

Much to both of their surprise, Chan was not using the bathroom, if the sobs were anything to go by. They looked at each other before phasing into the largest handicapped stall. Once there, they found the sobbing noises were not coming from Chan at all, but from a young teenager next to him as Chan rubbed his back comfortingly.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Chan said. “It’s okay to be nervous.”

The teenager looked fairly young and was dressed up like he was about to go on to perform. He was hunched over, hanging onto the support rail to keep himself up like his legs might give in at any moment. “What if I mess up?” he asked in a small voice. “All the others… they’ve been training for so long, and I can’t let them down.” He looked pale at the thought.

“You’ve been training for a long time too,” Chan assured him. “And your group has improved quite a bit from the last time I went back to the company. You’ll do perfect, I’m certain.”

“I don’t know,” the boy said. “I’m not a good dancer. It took me three times longer than anyone else to learn the choreography. I just don’t want to mess up.”

Chan hummed. “You know, I was terrified the first time I performed as well.”

The boy looked up, a little disbelieving. “But you guys were super rookies. Everyone was talking about you when you debuted.”

“Sure,” Chan said, waving a hand, “But I was paralyzed every time before we performed. It got better, but it was nerve wracking my whole first year. However, the first time before I ever performed, I got some advice from a friend. I’ll ask you something. Would you be mad if Hwall messed up accidentally on stage?”

“Not really,” the boy said. “I know he’s been working hard this whole time.”

“So it stands to reason that they won’t be mad if you mess up,” Chan said. “Also, even though you want to perform perfectly every time, mistakes will happen. Everyone knows that. Even your fans know that. What matters is that you pick yourself up and keep going. If you do that, your fans will see your hard work and dedication to giving a good performance. Your mistakes can help you just as much as your successes.”

The teenager nodded, “I guess that makes sense.” 

Chan gave him a final pat on the back. “It also helps to talk to your team mates. Go find them.” The idol nodded, bowing once to Chan before leaving the bathroom. Chan shook his head and smiled. He grabbed a stack of previously unnoticed cue cards before washing his hands in the sink and heading out of the bathroom, stopping briefly to look at the flowers on a corner of the counter.

Jun paused the scene this time. “Well, that was nice of him,” Jun said.

“He seems like a nice guy,” Donghun said, frowning. He tapped his watch and activated the memento, which appeared to be the cue cards in Chan’s hand. “Maybe he _does_ just want to relive his glory days one last time.”

“I just feel like there should be something more,” Jun said, frustrated. Donghun activated the memento.

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 36 years old**

 

They landed backstage again, though this time it was even busier than the last one, if that was possible. “Okay, stop!” Jun yelled, pressing a button. Immediately, everyone froze. The change from all the noise and movement to absolute stillness was jarring, but it allowed Jun a second to collect his thoughts.

“What’d you do that for?” Donghun asked, wading around the people to get to Jun.

Jun stared at him in disbelief. “How were we supposed to find Chan in all that noise?”

“Easy,” Donghun said, pointing to a spot right next to the stage. Sure enough Chan was standing next to the stage in full performance outfit and his group all around him.

Jun blinked, recognizing their outfits. “Wait a minute, what day is it?”

Donghun consulted his control watch before relaying the date. “Why, what’s wrong?”

“I know this date,” Jun said, trying to recall the files. He snapped his fingers. “This is their final show.”

“Like the last show of their comeback?” Donghun asked. 

“No, like their last show, period,” Jun said. “They retired the group after this show.” Donghun’s eyes widened. They got closer to the group and Jun started the memory up again.

“I’m just gonna go make a call real fast,” Chan said. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay,” a much younger Gwangsuk said cheerfully. “Hurry back! We can’t start without our MC, and we have to make this last show perfect!” His voice wobbled a bit toward the end.

“Hey, we said we wouldn’t cry in front of our fans,” Hansol said.

Gwangsuk waved him off. “Just hurry.”

Chan nodded and headed off backstage. Jun and Donghun followed him as Chan walked down a hallway until the noise faded away. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number before putting it to his ear.

“I hate how much of an invasion of privacy this is but…” Jun pressed a button and the call came through loudly, as if put on speaker phone.

“Hey Chan!” Whoever was on the other line said. “Aren’t you abut to go on? What are you doing calling us?” Then more distant as if the person was speaking to someone else. “Sehyoon, are you taping this? Tell me you are.” The response was too soft for Jun and Donghun to hear, but the person on the line seemed satisfied.

“I just wanted to say hi,” Chan laughed.

“Well, hi,” the voice replied, humor apparent in his tone, “You’re gonna crush this Chan. I even have Sehyoon recording this, so do your best! Not that you’ve ever done less than that.”

“Thanks!”

“I mean it Chan! Even if it’s your last show, you should be proud! You guys have come so far in fifteen years!”

“It’s all because of you two,” Chan said.

The person made a noise like a fart. “Don’t flatter us Chan. You worked hard and made this happen yourself.”

“I’m serious though!” Chan insisted. “You guys were there every step of the way.”

“Fine, we helped, but it was mostly you,” the voice said. “Now get back to work! We’ll call you tonight, okay?”

“Okay,” Chan agreed. “Bye Byeongkwan.”

“Bye Chan! Good luck!” Chan hung up the phone with a smile and headed back to where his group was waiting, looking considerably happier.

“Ready?” Gwangsuk asked.

Chan nodded. “Ready.”

Donghun paused the memory again, looking to Jun. “Who was he calling?” Donghun asked.

“Whoever it was, they weren’t in the file,” Jun said. “I know, I read the thing five times.”

Donghun frowned, checking the time. “We’ve been in here for a while. Let’s surface and see if we can dig anything up about that Byeongkwan and Sehyoon.

 

* * *

 

Jun pulled the helmet off of his head. He could already feel his hair sticking up at odd angles and groaned, trying to pat it down futilely. He saw Donghun pull his own helmet off, though his didn’t stick up nearly as much with how close his hair was cropped. Life just wasn’t fair sometimes.

“Oh, you’re back.” They both looked to the doorway to see Jisung standing there. “Did you grant his wish?”

“Not yet,” Jun said. “We just came back to eat something real fast and then we’ll get back to work.”

Jisung nodded. “It is lunch time and I made extra sandwiches if you want some.” They both nodded gratefully and followed Jisung down into the kitchen. There was a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches on a paper plate, and they both dug in.

“So,” Jun said around a mouthful of sandwich. Donghun gave him a disgusted look, but didn’t comment. “Did Mr. Kang ever mention a Byeongkwan or Sehyoon?”

Jisung thought about it for a minute before shaking his head. “Not that I know of.” He frowned. “Wait, actually…” He left the room quickly and came back a minute later with a scrap book. “Here,” he said, flipping the book open. Donghun and Jun looked over his shoulders as he scoured the pages. “A-ha!” He landed on one with a set of fuzzy photos taken years ago when Chan was a teenager.

“Kim Byeongkwan and Kim Sehyoon,” Donghun read off the caption. 

Jun was already on his phone searching their names. “Okay,” he said, pulling up some articles. “Kim Byeongkwan was a choreographer and Kim Sehyoon was a producer for the company that Chan worked with, but they weren’t much older than him.”

“So just some friends then?” Donghun asked.

“I guess,” Jun said, not quite convinced.

“Must’ve been friends for a long time,” Jisung cut in. They both jumped as they’d forgotten he was there. “I mean, if they have photos as teenagers together.”

“True,” Jun said. “Good call.” Jisung glowed a little at the praise. “Also good enough friends to call on your last day performing with your group.”

“Do you think they’d know more about why Chan wants to perform with his friends again despite seeming happy in his retirement?” Donghun asked.

“Can’t ask them,” Jun said with a grimace. “They’ve both passed away already.”

Donghun sighed. “Back to square one. I guess we’ll just have to go back and keep looking.” He wiped his hands on a napkin before throwing it in the trash. They headed back upstairs.

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 30 years old**

 

They were in a bathroom, which Donghun was all kinds of displeased about. “Wow, why do so many clients have life changing events in bathrooms?” Donghun asked, leaving the stall.

Jun laughed. “We’ve only had to go into bathrooms with…” he started counting on his fingers, “Uh, seven clients. Huh. Okay, maybe you’re right.”

Donghun shook his head. “Let’s just get this over with.” They found Chan in one corner of the bathroom, texting on his phone. Donghun pressed a button and displayed the texts overhead as projections.

 

_Chan_

I’m just nervous

It’s my first MC event

 

_Byeongkwan_

Don’t be nervous!

You’ll do fine!

 

_Chan_

What if I mess up my lines?

 

_Byeongkwan_

Don’t think like that!

You have to envision yourself doing well to do well

If you think you’ll fail, then you’ll fail!

 

_Chan_

It’s hard to think positive though

There’s so many people

 

_Byeongkwan_

Hm. Just imagine me and Sehyoon in the crowd

Do you really think we’d make fun of you?

I mean, we absolutely would

But it’d be all with good intentions

 

_Chan_

I’m not sure that’s helping

 

Byeongkwan:

Just go out there and do your best

We’ll all get dinner together afterwards

I’ll even pay this time!

But only if you try your best!

And remember what I told you the first time!

 

 _Chan_  
I’ll try my best

 

_Byeongkwan_

Fighting!

 

Chan smiled and Donghun paused the memory. “I guess they talk more often then we thought,” Donghun said. 

“They’re clearly important somehow, but I’m not sure,” Jun said. “I wish we could just ask them.”

“Put on your detective hat then,” Donghun said while activating the memento, which happened to be Chan’s phone. 

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 26 years old**

 

Donghun and Jun landed outside a restaurant this time. It was a large fancy looking restaurant, the kind that looked like it would take reservations a month in advance to get into. Jun winced just thinking about how much the things on the menu would be. Luckily this time they didn’t have to go find Chan, as the man rushed right past them into the restaurant. They exchanged a look before following.

“I’m meeting my friends here,” Chan said to the waiter. “They should be here already. The reservation was under Kang Yuchan?”

The waiter consulted their list before nodding. “Ah yes, right this way.” Chan was led through a number of large tables to a private booth in the very back. “Right here, sir.” Chan thanked her before walking up to it.

“Chan!” a voice yelled, and a blonde man jumped up from his seat to pull Chan into a hug. “Oops,” he muttered as he got some dirty looks from the other diners. He lowered his voice, but didn’t let go of Chan. “It’s been ages!”

“I don’t think he can breathe,” the other, a handsome black haired man, said. The blonde finally released Chan from his death grip and dropped back into his chair.

“Hey Byeongkwan,” Chan said, finally getting his breath back. “Sehyoon.” He grinned at both of them. The blonde, Byeongkwan apparently, patted the booth seat next to him.

“So this is Byeongkwan and Sehyoon,” Jun said pensively, looking over the table. “They look like they’ve known each other for a while.” Byeongkwan started rambling to Chan about something or other.

Donghun nodded. “I’m still not sure how they’re linked into Chan’s story though.”

“If they’ve really known each other for a while, the reason’s probably further back in his memories,” Jun said.

“Honestly, I can’t believe you don’t know this,” Donghun teased. “I thought you were a big fan.”

“My _mom_ is a big fan,” Jun huffed. “I just like UNB’s music.”

“–saw you on TV,” Byeongkwan was saying, Sehyoon nodding along. “We voted for you on that music show. And you guys won! Congrats!”

“You’re a big star now,” Sehyoon said, grinning. “We can hardly go to dinner with you anymore without getting mobbed.”

Chan grimaced. “Sorry about all the sneaking around.”

Byeongkwan rolled his eyes. “Don’t apologize. We’re happy your so popular now!”

“Yeah, UNB is definitely doing well,” Sehyoon said. “You still need to let me produce a song for you.”

Chan laughed. “Of course!” Sehyoon nodded, satisfied.

“I bought your guys’ latest album,” Byeongkwan said. “You helped write one of the songs, right?”

“Yep,” Chan confirmed.

“That’s what I thought,” Byeongkwan said. “It sounded like something you’d write.”

Chan smiled, though it was a little dimmer than what Donghun and Jun had been seeing before. They looked at each other. Apparently Chan’s expression didn’t get by Byeongkwan and Sehyoon either.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Byeongkwan asked, concerned. 

“I just…” Chan started, voice shaking. “I wish you guys could be there too.” Sehyoon and Byeongkwan traded significant glances.

“Have you been thinking about that this whole time?” Sehyoon asked. “You know we support you.”

“And you always look so good on stage,” Byeongkwan added. “You were born to perform, Chan.”

“We don’t hold anything against you,” Sehyoon said. “It’s not your fault. You know that.”

Chan nodded, not speaking. Byeongkwan sighed. “Hey. It’s okay Chan. We’re okay, so stop beating yourself up, and enjoy being a member of UNB. You love UNB, don’t you?” Chan nodded again. “Right, so you gotta keep smiling on stage. You’re their light.”

Chan scrubbed harshly at his eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay,” he said, offering them a small smile.

“There we go,” Byeongkwan said, smiling back. He picked up the menu. “Now let’s get some food. Since you’re a big superstar now, I expect you to pay for everything.”

Chan gasped. “Cheapskate.”

“You should know that by now,” Byeongkwan replied, grinning. Chan’s smile got wider as the dinner went on, until it was back to its normal radiance.

Donghun paused the scene and looked down at the table for a moment. “What was _that_ about?”

Jun bit his lip as he found the memento, a phone charm on Chan’s phone. “I don’t know, but something tells me we missed the mark on what his dream is.”

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 21 years old**

 

They found themselves amongst a row of seats and in a crowd of approximately a hundred girls and a row of fansites.

“Agh!” Jun yelped, ducking out of the path of the cameras, despite no one being able to see him.

“Calm down,” Donghun said, standing over Jun, who had dropped to the ground. “Chan’s up there doing a fan sign.”

“A fan sign?” Jun asked, getting to his feet. He looked up to see all the UNB members sitting in a row along a table, as fans made their way down the line. Chan was at the end of the table, smiling at a girl. They made their way onto the stage to stand in front of Chan.

“Do you think I could get a signed album for my mom?” Jun asked. Donghun gave him a look that said ‘don’t push it’. “Just asking.” They watched as a girl gave Chan the phone charm from the last memory, a tiny plastic sun. Chan grinned and nodded at what the girl was saying.

“Doesn’t appear to be a lot to this memory either,” Donghun said, looking at the confined room. Chan signed the girl’s album with a flourish, asking her a few questions at the same time.

The memory seemed to speed forward to UNB giving their final bows before they left the room. Chan’s expression was slightly melancholy as he looked out to the crowd, but he quickly fixed it before any fansite could catch it. They were marched out quickly, leaving Jun and Donghun in an empty auditorium.

“He doesn’t seem happy,” Jun said, confused. “Isn’t this the time period he wants to relive?”

“You’d think so,” Donghun said, activating the memento around the pen Chan had used in the signing.

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 20 years old**

 

They were in an office. Chan was looking down at a contract with an expressionless woman on the other side of the desk. The only noise was the loud ticking clock on the wall behind the woman. 

“Sign here,” she said, pointing to an open space at the bottom of the contract.

Chan gulped before picking up the pen and signing on the line. She nodded briskly.

“Alright, everything appears to be in order,” she said, taking the contract and giving it a once over. “We’ll let you know when you’ll need to move into the new dorms.” Chan nodded and hastily got up from his seat when she got up from hers.

He bowed to her. “Thank you very much.” Chan turned to leave and was halfway across the room when her voice stopped him.

“Chan,” she said, voice and expression softening considerably from the hard edge it had earlier. “I’m truly sorry that things didn’t work out the way we hoped for initially.” Chan’s jaw tightened. “I hope you can still enjoy working with UNB, despite everything.” Chan bit his lip before turning around and bowing shortly again. He left the room quickly.

Jun paused the moment. “Alright,” Jun said. “What the _hell_ does that mean?”

“Nothing good,” Donghun said, looking at the contract.

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 19 years old**

 

They landed in a dance studio next, Chan standing next to a younger Byeongkwan and Sehyoon with another woman (a manager maybe?) standing in front of them apologetically. Jun and Donghun stayed near the mirrors on the walls of the room.

“I’m sorry, this is what the company has decided,” the woman said, truly looking apologetic. “I know you’ve worked for this for so long, but we just can’t have you debut like this.”

“What do you mean?” Byeongkwan asked, frustrated. “We know all the dances! And the songs! We’ve been rehearsing for our debut for months!”

“I know,” she said, holding up her hands. “I’ve been arguing with them for just as long. As it is, you don’t have enough members to take over the vocal strain the songs put on all of you. Byeongkwan, you’re already taking over so many different roles for each song. Chan, you’re the only person taking on the high notes, and don’t think I haven’t noticed the strain that puts on your voice. Sehyoon, you’re being forced to take over the rap while doing some of the most intense choreo.” 

They all looked ready to argue, but she silenced them with a look. “You are all taking over the roles the usually get distributed amongst anywhere from five to thirteen people. You’re going to have to work three times as hard to keep up with other groups, and at that rate your bodies and voices will give out. I’m sorry, but we have to dissolve this group.” She said the words with an air of finality. 

Byeongkwan stormed out of the room. Sehyoon left not too long after with a quick bow. Chan turned to leave as well, but she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Actually Chan, I need to speak with you,” she said. 

Chan frowned. “What?”

“They actually want to put you in another group,” she said. “The company… they’ve been making another boy group called UNB. They want to put you in it.”

Chan’s eyes widened. “Me? What about Sehyoon and Byeongkwan?”

She shook her head. “No, just you. They only have room for one more member.”

“That’s not fair!” Chan protested. “I’m not joining without Byeongkwan and Sehyoon! We’ve been working toward this for years!”

She sighed. “I thought that might be your answer now. I just have to tell you what they’re saying. I’ll ask again in a week.”

“My answer will be the same,” Chan said, crossing his arms.

“Maybe,” she said. “But I want you to really think about it.” She left the room, and the memory blurred, fast forwarding.

If Donghun had to guess, it was a few days later though they were still in the dance studio. Byeongkwan and Sehyoon were back, and they were talking with Chan.

“You should go for it,” Sehyoon said. “This is your big opportunity to debut.”

“I don’t want to debut without you two,” Chan insisted stubbornly. “We said we’d all debut together!” Byeongkwan and Sehyoon looked at each other. “Stop doing that!” Chan snapped, frowning. “Stop acting like I’m a kid who can’t make my own decisions!”

“We know you’re not a kid,” Byeongkwan said. “But we know that this is probably your best shot at debuting, and you know that too.”

“You should debut, Chan,” Sehyoon said. “You want to be on stage.”

“You have all the skills for variety, singing and dancing,” Byeongkwan agreed. “It’d be dumb to waste this chance. 

“But you guys are the ones who got me this far,” Chan protested.

“And now we’re telling you to go further,” Sehyoon said. He put a hand on Chan’s shoulder. “Don’t let this go.” Chan finally broke down into tears and the other two wrapped him in a hug.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry,” Byeongkwan chanted.

“We’re still gonna try and stick around,” Sehyoon said. “The company’s not canceling our contracts. Maybe we’ll be able to stay here and you’ll still see us.”

Chan looked up with watery eyes. “Really?”

“Yeah, really,” Byeongkwan said, patting Chan on the back. “And we’re going to be rooting for you the whole time.” They stood in silence for a while, before finally breaking up their hug.

“I’m going to accept the offer,” Chan said in a small voice.

Byeongkwan smiled. “You’re going to shine the brightest.”

The memento flashed white, and they were gone.

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 18 years old**

 

“A van?!” Jun cried in outrage. It was cramped and smelled like sweaty teenage boys, which was to say, not pleasant. “Why?!”

“Quit complaining!” Donghun muttered, turning off the smell. “Thank god.”

They looked over the row of seats to see Chan curled into a ball in the seats in front of them. The door to the van slid open, startling all of them, and Byeongkwan bounded through, a smile on his face.

“Hey, you ready to–?” His grin faded as he noticed Chan desperately wiping at his eyes. “What’s wrong, Chan? Weren’t you excited for our first busking event?”

Chan nodded. “I am but… what if I mess up?”

Byeongkwan scoffed. “You? Mess up? You’re a great dancer and singer, Chan. You have nothing to worry about.” He put on a reassuring smile, but Chan still seemed discouraged. Byeongkwan sighed and got in the seats next to Chan.

“What if I forget a line? Or mess up a dance move?” Chan asked, looking outside at the crowd gathering while their sound system was being set up.

“It’ll be okay,” Byeongkwan said. “Do you really think Sehyoon or I would get mad?”

“No,” Chan said. “But I don’t want to let the people watching down either.”

“Chan, sometimes mistakes happen. What matters is that you pick yourself up and keep going. If you do that, the people watching will see your hard work and dedication to giving a good performance. Your mistakes can help you just as much as your successes,” Byeongkwan said. He waited as the words sank in, beaming when Chan finally nodded.

“Okay,” Chan said.

“Okay?” Byeongkwan teased. Chan rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Let’s knock ‘em dead.”

The memory paused.

“I think,” Jun said, licking his lips, “we were very wrong about who Chan wants to perform with.”

Donghun nodded. “He wanted to perform with Byeongkwan and Sehyoon for the final time.”

“They never got a debut,” Jun said. “That’s what he really wants.”

“He would’ve been sitting on this regret for over sixty years,” Donghun said, shaking his head. “How are we going to do this?” They both thought about it for a minute until Donghun noticed a slow smile spreading across Jun’s features, and he began to get very very worried. 

“So,” Jun began, “I have an idea.”

“Whatever it is, no,” Donghun said immediately. “The last time you suggested something with that smile, I ended up diving to the bottom of the ocean to retrieve a pearl.”

“It’s nothing that hard,” Jun said dismissively. “It’s just… the reason they couldn’t debut was because they were missing members, specifically vocalists, right?”

“Right…” Donghun said, drawing out the word.

“Well, we’ve both had vocal training in the past,” Jun said.

“NO!” Donghun yelled, finally realizing where Jun was going. “Absolutely not!”

“But it’s his dream!” Jun whined. “Do you really want to crush his dream? Isn’t granting it our job?”

“My job is _not_ to dance around on stage!” Donghun said. “In case you’ve forgotten, I don’t have any dance training like you!”

“Well, we’ll just have to train with them then!” Jun said. “A montage!”

“Fuck that!”

“Language!”

“I’m not doing this!” Donghun covered his ears with his hands and looked away. “I’m not doing it!” He started to childishly bat away Jun’s hands as they attempted to get him to listen.

After a few moments of flailing, Jun finally managed to pry one of his hands away. “Okay well, if we don’t do it we’ll be _violating our contract_.” Donghun went statue still, and Jun bit back a grin. “If we fail to grant his wish, we’ll have to go in for a court hearing and we might get sued, or worse _fired_.”

Donghun turned to face Jun with absolute murder spelled out in his eyes. “I _detest_ you.”

Jun grinned. “You could just say it’s a good idea. Alright, here’s what we’re gonna do.”

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 16 years old**

 

Chan was sitting outside the audition room in a sea of other people who were auditioning. He looked around, and it seemed like everyone was better. Better looking, better at dancing, better at singing. He started at his feet. He’d gone into the building with confidence, but the sheer number of trainee hopefuls were discouraging.

Someone sidled up next to Chan, and he turned to see a black haired boy giving him a smile. “Nervous?” the boy asked.

“A little,” Chan replied.

“Me too,” the other admitted. “Kim Sehyoon,” he said, extending a hand.

Chan took it. “Kang Yuchan.”

“What’s your specialty, Chan?” Sehyoon asked.

“Vocals and dance,” Chan said.

“Oh, I’m a dancer too,” Sehyoon said. “What style do you like?”

“Popping,” Chan said. He felt a surge of confidence and stood up. He demonstrated a short routine, moving to an invisible beat. Sehyoon clapped when he finished, but Chan was surprised when he heard another person clapping as well. He turned to see another boy walking up to them.

“Sorry,” the boy said. “What you were doing looked interesting and I wanted to watch. Kim Byeongkwan.” He bowed.

Chan bowed back. “Kang Yuchan.”

“You’re a pretty good dancer,” Byeongkwan said, smiling. “I’m a dancer too.”

Sehyoon and Chan looked at each other before grinning. “Dance off?” Sehyoon said. Byeongkwan’s grin widened.

Unnoticed to the three of them, two men watched from a distance.

“Is that really what I’m going to have to compete with?” Donghun groaned, watching Byeongkwan pull off a move he wasn’t sure he could even attempt without something giving out on him.

“Look on the bright side,” Jun said, “Didn’t you ever want to be an idol growing up?”

“Didn’t every kid?” Donghun snorted.

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 17 years old**

 

“I want to introduce you three to two more members who will be joining you in your training starting today,” Chan’s manager said. She waved a hand toward the door, and two boys strode in. “This is Park Junhee and Lee Donghun.” Byeongkwan, Sehyoon and Chan all bowed while the new trainees did the same.

Chan walked over to them first. “I’m Kang Yuchan.”

“Park Junhee,” the trainee said, even though he was just introduced. “I go by Jun, though.”

“I’m Kim Byeongkwan,” Byeongkwan appeared next to Chan. “That’s Kim Sehyoon over there,” he pointed to where Sehyoon was. Said boy waved. 

Jun grinned. “It’s nice to meet all of you.”

“So what is your specialty?” Chan asked, silently relieved that some more members had been added to help with the strain the songs took on all of them.

“I’m vocals and dance,” Jun said.

“I’m mainly vocals,” Donghun added. “Not so much dance.”

Chan laughed. “I’m sure we can help you with that.”

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 19 years old**

 

“You okay, Chan?” Jun asked, eyes landing on him as soon as Chan left the van.

Chan nodded, actually feeling much better after Byeongkwan had talked to him. “Yeah. I’m okay now.”

“We’ll put on the best show,” Byeongkwan said, patting Chan on the back.

“God help us,” Donghun groaned. Chan didn’t mind, Donghun was always kind of odd like that. Jun was too, but in a different way. Sometimes Chan got the feeling they knew something the rest of them didn’t, but it might just be because they were brought in later. Maybe they’d known each other before joining the company?

Chan didn’t have time to ponder it as the music began and he lost himself in the beat.

 

* * *

 

**Kang Yuchan, 20 years old**

 

“Ready for tomorrow?” Jun asked, hanging in Chan’s doorway. 

Chan nodded, looking up from his outfit for the next day that he would be wearing on his way to the stage. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep.”

Jun laughed. “I think Byeongkwan’s in the same boat. He’s been practicing his lines all night. I’ll have to ask Sehyoon to make sure he gets to bed at a decent time.”

Chan nodded, stomach twisting into knots. Jun walked up next to Chan and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t be nervous. You’ll do fine.”

“You can’t know that,” Chan said, making a face.

“I do,” Jun said with conviction. “Because you’re Kang Yuchan, and you always do your best. And tomorrow, everyone is going to see who A.C.E is.”

The rest of the night and most of the next morning passed in a vaguely nauseating blur. Before Chan knew it, he was backstage with someone saying they were due to perform next.

“You okay, Chan?” Donghun asked. “Don’t be scared.”

“Is he scared?” Byeongkwan asked, looking to Chan. “You’ll be great! We’ll all be great!”

“Pretend they’re all in their underwear,” Sehyoon said.

“No, don’t do that,” Donghun said, exasperated.

“Well, then pretend they’re all potatoes.”

“Don’t do that either!”

Chan laughed, already feeling better. If nothing else at least he could rely on his friends to be there every step of the way. He took his first stride onto the stage, looking out over the sea of people. Jun gave him a quick grin when their eyes met. Chan took a deep breath, waiting for the music to kick in.

The beat started, and Chan and his group lit up the stage.

 

* * *

 

Jun came back to reality and the sound of something droning on. As he registered what was happening, he yanked off his helmet to see the heart rate monitor by Chan flatlining. His own heart dropped to his stomach as he noticed Jisung sniffling next to Chan’s bed.

“Thank you,” he said, for once without any sarcasm in his voice. “For helping him.” Jun rushed over to the bed, barely registering Donghun pulling his own helmet off.

“Is he?” Donghun asked, approaching the bed. 

Jisung nodded. “But I think you made him happy. At least at the end.” Chan’s lips were turned upward into a smile. “I have to make some calls.” He excused himself from the room quickly.

“I…” Jun trailed off, not knowing what to say. This was part of the job, but it left a sour taste in Jun’s mouth every time. Donghun nudged his shoulder.

“We should pack our stuff up,” Donghun said, turning to do just that. “Come on, Jun.”

Jun blinked and followed along in a daze, packing up their equipment and heading out. On their way out the door, Jisung pushed a potted cactus into Jun’s hands, saying Chan had planned on giving it to the doctors as a thank you. When they reached the car, Jun put the cactus into the car’s cup holder on auto-pilot.

Jun didn’t snap back to reality until they were sitting in the car, Donghun driving down the road. It was then, he could feel tears beginning to form. 

“There it is,” Donghun muttered, pulling up the middle compartment where they kept a box of tissues. Jun pulled one out and blew his nose in it. “You got attached again,” Donghun stated.

Jun nodded. “You say that like there are times when I don’t get attached,” Jun said, voice muddled from his tears and other gross things.

Donghun grinned. “At least it means you care.”

“Maybe I care too much,” Jun muttered.

“That’s not a bad thing,” Donghun said. “It’s better than not caring at all.” They drove in silence for a while.

“But that was pretty cool, right?” Jun said.

“What was?”

“You know,” Jun made an indecipherable hand motion, “Getting to be idols? I always wanted to be one growing up since I would always listen to them.”

Donghun laughed. “Yeah, it was pretty cool.”

“Maybe in another life we could all be idols,” Jun said.

“We?” 

“You, me, Byeongkwan, Sehyoon, and Chan,” Jun explained.

Donghun hummed. “Yeah. In another life.” He flipped on the music and groaned when he realized Jun had snuck his own albums into the CD player. “Really? UNB? Now?”

“It’s fitting, isn’t it?” Jun argued. “You can kind of hear him with us.”

Donghun huffed, but didn’t move to change the CD. They drove into the distance, Chan’s voice sending them off one last time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> I just finished re-playing To The Moon recently, which inspired this. It's one of my favorite games, and I would highly recommend watching a play through or playing it yourself.


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